<p>OK that makes much more sense. </p>
<p>Going down the numbers and choices:</p>
<ol>
<li>“There is speculation that the name “Wendy” was the invention of JM Barrie, who created a character by that name for his famous play Peter Pan.”
A. Answer</li>
</ol>
<p>B. Verb phrase placement makes the sentence gramatically incorrect. There is speculation saying infers that speculation said something. This is not true because speculation cannot do anything. So this is crossed off. If you see a verb linked to a noun that cannot do what the verb is conveying, it’s usually wrong.</p>
<p>C. This is a case of Pronoun Ambiguity. Who is they? We have no idea, and because we have no idea, we can quickly cross that off the list.</p>
<p>D. Choice D makes the sentence a fragment so it cannot be true. Quick cross off.</p>
<p>E. “Some” is placed in a place where it changes the essence of the meaning. Like what I told the first person who created this thread, if a choice changes the essence of the meaning, it is almost always wrong. There is a difference between saying “There is speculation” and “there is SOME speculation,” which is basically what D is saying. </p>
<ol>
<li>“We had never seen anything like this style of architecture before, we thought we were looking at giant sculptures, not buildings.”
A. We had never seen makes the sentence a runon. Therefore, it is incorrect. Quick cross off.</li>
</ol>
<p>B. Once again, runon. Another quick cross off.</p>
<p>C. Never had we seen is just plain awkward. </p>
<p>D. Answer</p>
<p>E. Never seeing is incorrect. We know that the sentence necessitates a present perfect because the action is still going on. Think of have as being still affected by it. When they saw the giant structures, they were still affected by the fact they had never before seen anything like this. Does this make sense? Just to quickly synthesize: first clause is still affecting the reader even though it encompasses the past so it has to have the present perfect have.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A great gray owl flying low across a forest clearing, its wings beating quietly and its ultrasensitive ears tuned to the faint sounds made by small creatures concealed under leaves. No error
-There is something wrong with the verb because right now, this sentence is a fragment albeit a very loong fragment. Everything else is fine.</p></li>
<li><p>Determined to make a name for herself as a writer of short stories, Helen never submits anything to an editor until revising it several times. No error
-Until revising is ambiguous. Who was to revise the short stories? Helen or the editor? This is a case of an ambiguous something [forgot the name haha] because you don’t know to whom the action is playing out or being played out to. </p></li>
<li><p>The Roman poet Virgil is highly esteemed today for his epic poem, The Aeneid, yet on his deathbed he himself sought to prevent its publication on the grounds of not being sufficiently polished. No error
-Same as above. Who or what wasn’t sufficiently polished? Virgil or the poem? Once again, it is ambiguous so it is D.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Does this make sense?</p>